The invention relates to improvements in material moving apparatus, particularly for use in surface or underground mining. Apparatus of the type to which the present invention pertains can be classified with bucket loaders, bulldozers and like machines. More particularly, the invention relates to improvements in apparatus wherein a conveyance carries a supporting member for an implement, such as a bucket, and the implement can be moved between different levels.
Bucket loaders of conventional design employ wheeled or track laying vehicles for buckets which must be turned or lifted to a level well above the ground or floor in order to transfer the accumulated material onto the platform of a truck or onto a conveyor. This can present problems, especially in underground excavations with little room for trucks and/or conveyors. Moreover, much time is lost for lifting of a filled bucket well above the floor or ground level and for returning the emptied bucket to its operative position, e.g., to a level at which the bucket is ready to scrape comminuted material off the floor in an underground excavation or off the ground in a surface mine.